A raise take out for two in the ninth end was the straw that broke the broom at the Quesnel Grey Cup Cash Bonspiel.
The two points allowed skip Brent Yamada of Kamloops to take the G-Event 7-4 over Quesnel’s Vic LeBlanc.
“He [Yamada] made a heck of a shot in the ninth, otherwise we would have tied it up,” Leblanc said of the raise take-out shot.
Yamada sealed the deal in the tenth end with take out after take out to run Leblanc out of stones.
Leblanc tipped his hat to Yamada and his foursome of Corey Saurer, Brian Fisher and Lance Yamada.
“They curled a very good game,” he said.
Throwing yellow stones, the championship game started with Leblanc missing a draw in the first end to give up a steal of one.
LeBlanc got that one back in the second end, but left Yamada an open hit for two in the third, then drew heavy in the fourth end to give up another steal of one to put Yamada ahead 4-1 after four ends.
“We came out flat,” Leblanc said of the early ends of the championship draw.
Leblanc’s squad fought back for a single in the fifth, and a steal in the sixth to pull within one at 4-3.
The teams traded singles in the seventh and eighth end to set up the ninth end.
Despite the loss in the final match, Leblanc was pleased with his team of Larry Gardner at third, Herb Roodenburg at second and Blaine Leblanc at lead.
LeBlanc attributed part of his team’s success to a switch in the lineup that saw Roodenburg move from lead to second.
“He played really well,” Leblanc said of Roodenburg.
In the R-Event, Skip Darcy Tollefson made quick work of the Dave Plant rink, scoring four on a tap back in the first end, stealing one in the second to lead 5-0.
Plant drew to the four-foot for two in the third end, but Tollefson counted three more in the fourth end and the mitts came off for handshakes all around in an 8-2 win.
The E-Event had skip Joe Legaard draw to the four foot for a 5-4 win and the Y-Event saw skip Jerome Dies foursome earn a 5-2 win in seven ends.
A total of 22 teams signed up for the 32nd Annual Grey Cup Bonspiel, including teams from Smithers, Prince George, Vanderhoof, Kamloops and Williams Lake.
“Overall the quality of curling was very good,” manager and ice maker at the Quesnel Curling Club, Plant said.
“The ice was good and we’ve received great feedback from the players.”
